Online scammers and fraudsters are everywhere. Did you know that the amount lost on internet scams last year was more than $80 million?

What a mind-blowing number. Not to mention the fact that approximately 10% of people became the victims of online frauds. The number will probably increase in 2017.

Now the question for an ordinary website visitor is: How can we tell if a website is legit? Should I trust this website? Is there any way to find out more about this site? Here is a list of 7 free and important security plugins for Google Chrome. We’ve also included one bonus extension.

The Best Website Security Extensions in 2017

#1 IP Domain Country Flag

Have you ever wondered about the origin of the website you are in? While the flag is generated from the hosting server’s location, users usually register their domain and pick their hosting in their home countries. Facebook is one of the weirdest exceptions to this rule. Do you see a strange flag in your browser? It might be the first warning signal.

#2 Alexa Traffic Rank

There is a plethora of websites that look just great, have a lot of testimonials and seem legit. However, they might not be so popular in reality.
When considering 2 or 3 more options for the service you would like to get, it will give you an idea of how established those services are. Check their global and local rank to find out how popular they really are!

#3 Web of Trust (WOT)

WOT uses the visitors’ interaction to give you a view on the trustfulness of the actual site you’ve opened. When you see the green icon, the website is probably trusted by many people. However, if you visit a website that is not legit, this handy extension notifies you immediately that something is wrong.

#4 Wayback Machine

Here comes the Wayback machine! This shows you the website history in the period that you choose. Is the history consistent? How long is this website producing its content? You will find all the information needed extremely easily with WM.

#5 LastPass

I bet you know the situation when you have millions of passwords and do not remember all of them. Obviously, one password for all signups isn’t a clever solution. LastPass have you covered.

Now you just need to remember one password and all the other login details are stored in your online passwords wallet.

#6 Password Alert

Google develops a lot of online products that have absolutely changed the game. This one is not so famous, but is very important nonetheless, especially if you are using Gmail. How does this extension work? If you use the Gmail password for any other website, you will be notified that this is potentially dangerous.

#7 Avast Online Security

Similar to WOT, Avast gathers data on phishing sites and warns you if you are visiting one. It is nicely visualized. When you put your keywords in Google, you will see the green or red icon for almost every website. Your online search becomes a lot safer and easier!

BONUS Extension: Disconnect

Security and speed. Those are 2 key benefits of Disconnect.
You probably know that websites track your online activity and may possibly expose it to an identity theft. We do not want to risk this under any circumstances.

Disconnect plugin not only offers 44% faster page loading, it also blocks the third-party services from tracking you. I was quite amazed when I saw how many third-party services store your activity!

Conclusion

Although the plugins listed above are extremely useful, you should still be careful and look for as much information as possible if you visit a website that you are not familiar with.

Do not forget to create a unique password for every account, use LastPass as your password wallet and check the websites’ metrics in order to stay safe.